Chester Zoo

Hi readers,

Yesterday I spent the day at Chester Zoo with my friends as this cool photo above shows! They take your photo when you enter and you can buy it afterwards. That's what we ended up doing when we saw this pic! It's good as well because you can access them online and there's two other backgrounds one with elephants and the other with rhinos. I like this one though.

We had an amazing day out and took a lot of photos! Some of my pics turned out pretty good and we had a close experience with many of the animals. The weather held out too and it was sunny, though slightly cold in the wind, but all the animals were out. Enough of us went as well, so we were able to catch up on things that had been happening since we were last together. So the zoo was a back drop for us getting together really, but it was still interesting. I've not been to a zoo in awhile, last time must have been Blackpool zoo with college for my animal care course. I think also a small part of me is against zoos, because I like animals to be in the wild as that's where they belong. I know that they are not safe in some areas and the conservation works most zoos do around the world is important to
make sure these wonderful animals are still around for future generations to see for real.




My favourite animals had to be the fruit bats, red pandas, meerkats, the elephants (pic above) and some of the tropical birds, because they were cool. I was most excited about seeing the bats and it's a shame you couldn't take pics inside their house. I don't think they would have turned out anyway, because the bats move so fast and it is really dark. I liked just standing there and watching them flying around. They come really close to you as well and you can feel the air moving around you. I could have spent more time in the bat house, but some of my friends were getting a little scared, so we left. I didn't get any pics of the red pandas either because they were hiding high up in the trees when we walked by. They are really cute though! The meerkats were cute too, because they had babies and I took a lot of photos of them. I'll put them up at the end with some of the other good ones.

In the tropic house there was some cool birds, and we were kept amused by one of these bird which took a liking to one of my housemates! There's video evidence of this as well, but I don't think anyone is going to forget it any time soon. My housemate spend a lot of time whisling and talking to this bird and then he trainned it to follow him. So he would run from one side to the other and the bird would copy him and jump from one branch to the next! We had a right laugh over that and it was hard to tear ourselves away, but more animals were waiting. This is bird below- a White-Crested Turaco.




I also really liked the butterfly house because there was so many large and pretty butterflies fluttering about and it was hard not to stop and stare at all the bright patterns on the wings. It was interesting too because my other housemate wrote her dissertation on butterflies-though it was just the one kind, but she still knew some interesting facts about some of the others. I liked the big black and white ones and watching them drinking up orange juice was really cool. I also really liked the glass wing butterfly because it has see through wings. It was hard to take a photo of, but I think I just about got it. The reason why it's wings are like that is for camaflage so it can survive longer in the wild.



We had a good day out over all and Chester Zoo is well worth the visit any time! They have some many cool animals there and the staff are really friendly and know the different animals well. I've some other cool pics too, so I'm going to put them up now.

Liverpool Night out

Hi readers,

I've been baking again! It's a birthday cake this time for my housemate last saturday. I had a problem with the oven though and there's still two peices of cake sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be eaten! It doesn't taste so bad, but the oven just didn't have the energy to cook the middle, so it was slightly uncooked.....still though it's better then no birthday cake! I think it'll be awhile before I cook cake again though....

On saturday night, I went out to celebrate my housemates birthday and that of my other friend who was turning 21. I spent an age getting ready, because I wanted to curl my hair and wear my dress too. It was worth it though and we set out for her house first with presents and drinks. We did get a little lost once we got off at her station though! But we made it to the party and had time to join in the fun and eat these amazing fairycakes....

Then we headed into Liverpool! Has we had caught the train ahead of everyone getting taxis, we got lost finding the nightclub we were going to meet in. We went to Walkabouts first, but left after one drink to try and find everyone. Luckily, I found the place thanks to a few text messages from another friend and we caught up with the group. After that we went to Krazy House. I'd not been before because it only opens a few nights a week and so far I'd not been on nights out on that night or else other plans had meant that we'd not go to that club. I still can't believe I've missed out on that place for 3 years though, because it was really good. There's like 3 different floors and they play didn't music on each. My favourite was the heavy metal one because that's my kind of music. (We're still at the house in the pic below)

I had a great time and I'm so looking foreward to doing it again soon on just a general night out. We got back at like 3am and had pizza- my idea to make sure we had something in to eat after drinking. So it was like 4am by the time we decided to go to sleep. I didn't take that many photos actually, think all that dancing must have got to me, it didn't help that we lost everyone in Krazy House and then because we had kept to the space we had first gethered in, met up with some of them again. My head was fine in the morning, surpirsingly, but I didn't do much on Sunday!

Not been doing much since really, been writing and reading. Going home tomorrow for a break and a catch up with family and next week I'm off to the zoo!

New Novel

Hi readers,

I thought I'd stop by my blog and see if anything was happening....yep 396 comments pending for me! So I'll be reading through them once I'm done here. Not a lot has been going on since last time, well with me anyway. As most of my friends are still doing uni work or have decided to move back home for summer. I've been keeping busy through, I've been writing a post-modern, futurist story about rebel groups and strange shadow voices.....I've been keeping my best friend on edge about it, because she's been reading it, but can't figure out what is actually happening. Good news for me, because she is normally the first person to figure out how a novel or movie is going to end. So I've to be really inventive with this novel to make sure that she doesn't see the ending coming! As of yet I've not seen it either. I think that's why I'm currently really into writing it, because I've no idea how things are going to go.

My characters have been leading the plot and there are like a number of different sets of characters now. They are linked by one person at the minute, though things might change....still though it's a challenge to write. When I first started with it, I had this idea of having it set around and on trains as much as possible, because there was just something about this transport that was important. I've still not figure out why, but I know that trains are a key theme! Then I decided that I wanted to have it written in a strange style. I wanted there to be a sheet of glass between the reader and the happenings within the novel. So the read could still get attached to the characters, but the characters would only show the reader so much. Meaning that most of the time the reader is left out of the world which the characters live in. So this distance was created and it's still going on. The reader doesn't know anything! Issue is though, this means I don't know anything either......

Difficult to explain, but hang on a minute. As the writer I should know my characters and the plot. I should be the one making the choices and deciding things, but for this novel to work out how I started it, I can't be in control. Therefore, I don't know myself what'll happen till I start writing and the characters wonder into my mind and show me things. The other restriction I've in place at the minute is not thinking about the novel when I'm not writing it! So not normal for me, because I like to wonder away from the computer, take a walk outside whilst listening to some loud heavy metal music and let my thoughts drift. This way new ideas enter my head and by the time I return I'm ready to note them down and carry on writing. With my new novel, that's not an option, so I've to relay on the characters to keep showing me things whilst I write, so that I can put them in. Luckily, they are still doing this! Here's hoping they carry on too, because I really want to know how things will work out for all the characters!

So, that's been my life lately. I'm having a night out tonight though! It's a friend's 21st, so I'm going to Liverpool with all my housemates, some of others and her friends for a good night of partying and drinking. Though I'm not going to get too drunk, because that's a bad thing. So there'll be photos of that coming tomorrow or Monday....depending on how things go and if we go to any good places I'll write about them too. :)

Uni Is Over!

Hi readers,

Yesterday, I handed in the final essay of my joint Creative Writing and English Lit BA Hons degree. I've a lot of mixed feelings about it. In one way it's a massive weight off my shoulders because all my work is now and I don't have to think about doing anything else. The one way is the fact that I officially won't have to do any more work for my degree and my student life is almost over, (for this part anyway). It feels sort of like a catch 22, good and bad sides and I don't think it's sunk in yet. Though I think this has more to do with the fact that my housemates and most of my friends are still hard at work, so good luck to all of them!

I baked chocolate chip muffins in a mini celebration yesterday too and I made a load, so if anyone fancies one just drop by. That and I'm still waiting for the pics of me reading out last week as I've not been out and about with my own camera lately. I'm sure that's about to change though, because my diary is full of outings at the minute and I know there's still about three that need to go in there. So, though my student life is drawing to an end there's still a lot happening.

After finishing all my work, I so wanted a break and to have some time to myself and to catch up with my friends. But the sudden idea of not doing anything after all the stress and work of doing my final essays, bugs me too much.....So I'm caving today, by first writing my blog and then sitting down to read through my novel. I've been having a lot of ideas about my novel and I really want to get back writing it and not even writing one of my others is helping to stop my urges. So I'm going to give in and try my hand at editing once more.

Writing and editing are two very different things. With writing, you get it all out on the page and just go with it. Yeah, you might spend the time planing plot lines and characters, but overall you just write what you want. Editing is different from this, you have to use a different part of your brain and start thinking more like a reader and questioning your work. Will the reader understand what you mean? Is your character real and your setting realistic enough to pull off that world? And how about the way it is written? Not just the spelling or grammar, but the structure of the sentences, the paragraphs, the chapters? Also its not about re-writitng the whole thing, its about adding and taking away. Having the strength to rip your own work part and re-do it, is in the talent of the writer. To be able to say 'okay that's not working and needs taking out,' or 'more needs to be put in here, 'cause my character's anger just isn't getting through right,' is all part of a writer's life. Editing is a long road, but it's worth it and will make your writing better.

So, that's my helpfully writing tip for today and now I'm off to follow my own advice!

Reading in Liverpool at WOW

Hi readers!
Last week I told you about going to read some of my first chapter of my novel out in a competition. Well, the big event was last night in Liverpool at this really great coffee shop called The Green Cauldron. I'll be dropping by for a visit there next time I'm in Liverpool, because they have an amazing carrot cake and though I don't like coffee the smell is just great. Anyway, so I had entered the first chapter of my novel into this competition for it to get published in a small book of first chapters and I didn't actually win. Still though, I sure felt like I had done last night! I was really worried about presenting my novel and not just because reading my own work to strangers is mega unnerving, but in case it wasn't very good.....
I had worked hard on getting my words right though and I didn't mess up. The judges asked some questions too and I answered them really well. The winning for me was the fact I was there and I did my reading. To me it just showed how far I'd come really, because I'd never even think about doing anything like that when I was at college! Still though I knew my novel would be okay and I know it still needs work, but that's way writing just goes. I got a chance to speak to one of the judges after too and she said my chapter had potential and was interesting, I just need to sort out the opening a bit more. So that was really encouraging and I wanted to run home and start writing again!
I had a great time and it was fantastic to be a part of something like this. I liked listening to everyone else reading their chapters too because there was some interesting openings there. I wasn't alone though and I should have said before that my fan club where their to witness this massive step in my life and also that of the novel. I don't know what I would have done if my friends couldn't have come. They were amazing as my support and somehow they managed to keep my nervousness down and make me laugh. I owe them so much and truly I can't describe my gratitude to them, because they are completely amazing brilliant people.
I think I'm still in shock and on a high. Silly really, but I just provide to myself that I can do things like this and I did really enjoy reading. Well, that's something I've always loved and I have been known to read aloud to friends and family before now. Strange thing to get a kick out of, but still....So now I'm recommending people get out there and share their stories with the world. It's important to do this because there's so many great tales out there and it's a shame most of them get lost. I know people are too busy and technology is currently ruling, but still go grab your fav novel and start reading it! Or start writing!!!
Here's the WOW website- http://www.writingonthewall.org.uk/index-page.html
Lastly for today, I only have one more essay to do. I've not started it, but I will be doing tomorrow! It's due in on monday, but I've been stuck with my other ones and doing my reading. I'm sure it'll be fine though and it's on Modernism which is very interesting in itself. Also I'll put the photos up of me reading when I get them off my friends soon!

Strawberry Fields

Hi readers!

I’ve inherited these 20 odd strawberry plants from my uncle. They were at the bottom of his garden and when I went to help my mum clean out his house, we found them and decided to bring them home. They needed lots of TLC and a lot of water, but now they are happily sitting at the top of my garden and flowering in the sunlight. I’ve never been that much into gardening, but I have to admit that The Secret Garden is one of my favourite films and has been for an age now! So I’ve rescued these strawberries in the spirit of that film really. It’s amazing how much they have grown in the last few days as well and I’ve been out checking on them and chatting to them…well they have proven that talking to plants does make them grown! But these guys are not my first strawberry plant and I’m hoping that most readers will remember Hairy Von Baron Strawberry.



He was given to me last year by my best friend and now he’s grown abit more and spreed out. So there’s more of him in the garden now! My new plants are out shining him though, because they have flowers already, but he’s showing any signs of bursting into bloom just yet…..Anyway I’ve got my hands full with guarding my strawbs against slugs and other bugs, luckily I’ve some help!





Gargoylesto keep away evil and Patch to keep me company. She looks so cute! So it looks like there’ll be a lot of homegrown strawberries for me this year. I’ve developed a taste for gardening now and I was thinking that if my writing falls through I’d take up being a gardener! Though at the minute it looks like things are taking off for me. I entered a competition with the first chapter of my novel and they accepted it for the first heat! So now, next Wednesday I’ve to go to Liverpool to read it out in front of the judges! I’m scared and excited and really not sure what to do with myself. I’m going to go for it though and try my best. I know my novel is still a mess, but someone might be interested in it and you don’t know what will happen till you give it a shot. So I’ll let you know how that goes next week!

I’ve been busy trying to do my project today, my Victorian English Lit essay, which is about the characters of Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester and how the Bronte sister as women writers created this powerful male characters. I’ve done about 300 words today, so it’s just over 1,000 out of the 3,000 it needs to be by Tuesday. It doesn’t help that I left the novels with all my notes in at my uni house, or the fact I’ve been distracted by a million other things! So tomorrow I must try harder, though I guess this is sort of like writing a story, it can’t be forced, though my deadline is nearly here. I know once I get back to uni and have my books I’ll be able to do it like that! But till then I’ve to chip away at it and try a different approach each time. I’ve to redraft my other essays too and make a plan for my last one. Still can’t believe that I’ll be starting my final essay soon. It’s a very scare thought.



And this is me sporting my new jacket! My mum finished knitting it for me the other day and I love it. Been wearing it every since really. It’s the perfect spring/summer cover up and it’s so nice. I’d love to knit something myself, but I just can never seem to get it right. I can knit, but I twist my wool up and I’m forever adding and losing stitches. Here’s a baby blanket I started the other day and well most of it is mum’s work, because the wool rebels against me too much. I’m getting back into the swing of it though, just takes awhile to get straight in my head….



That’s mostly it for today, though I’ve got a few more pics to put up….

Me and Patchy

Duck family!

Writing Stories

Hi,  I thought today I’d write a slightly different blog. Which should be good for me because I’m having a writer’s block with writing my essays. Truthfully, I’m not sure why, but I’ve some different theories; 1. the fact I’ve a loan laptop and the keyboard is strange and I don’t have any of my stuff on here, (Also just found out that nothing could be saved on my hard drive, so I’ve lost everything on that. Have new hard drive and getting laptop back tomorrow though.) 2. I’ve lots of other thoughts in my head right now and I can’t rid of them. 3. the idea of leaving Uni is scary! 4. I want my final essays to be really good. 5. I’m stressing about other things too now. So, yeah that’s about it, so I’m hoping to snap out of it soon!

So I might have writer’s block on my essays, but I’ve not on my novels. I’ve been writing one I started last yearish and the idea was that the reader was on the outside looking in, so they were always at a distance from the world and characters. Thus means that I and the characters are in the same boat, on the outside, not sure what’s going on or who to trust. It’s working out really well tho in a strange way and it’s not really about vampires!

Doing a creative writing course has taught me all about the craft of writing, but not really ‘how to write’ that comes from practice, experience and your own talent and imagination. Reading and writing every day is an important part of it too! Plus you have to love doing it and writing for yourself. That’s how I got into it really, writing as a hobby and often in reply to books I had just finished reading. I strongly believe as well that having a really good or over active imagination helps too. I’ve always had one, mostly because I was a bit of loner for most of my childhood and thus creating worlds and make believe friends was a great comfit for me. I also believe if you want it badly enough you should go after it and for me being a novelist would be my dream come true. I already know, from my course, that getting something published and making it popular in the world is hard to do and seriously not as easy as most people believe it to be. This is due to the fact that publishing is like any other business and they always want to make money.

Moving on and focusing on me for a min, I started writing stories when I was 6, but because I was dyslexic (I didn’t know officially till I was 16) no one knew what I was going on about, but I got a taste for writing, though it was so tough for me! But I loved reading and books, thanks to my parents. Then when I was 12 I found inspiration from R .L. Steins’ Goosebumps stories and  wrote my first novel part in high school, part at home. The only evidence I have of that novel is a single paper copy. From there though and without any guidance or anything, I took that novel and redraft it. From there was born the first in a series of novels about a group of teenagers who went to a summer camp every year and I wrote like 10 novels. Then I got writer’s block and wrote nothing for a year.

Sorry, I’m so going off on something here, but it’ll explain things in a minute. Sometime whilst I was in college during my second year a character suddenly popped into my head and so was born my first official vampire. I then spent the next two years of my college life writing 3 novels about this vampire and his friends.

So, and I only discovered this by reading J .R. Ward’s The Black Dagger Brotherhood; The Insider’s guide, which is a great great book! That my characters would come into my head and start mapping out their own stories. Thus all my novels are driven by the character not the plot. Like Ward, I also see the images of my characters, their actions and their worlds in my head and that really helps when you’re writing a story. Being able to see images so that the words become more like pictures in your mind is a great skill to have.

I’d tell anyone to give writing in any form a shot and see how you feel about. I’m still surprised when my friends talk about something I’ve wrote and tell me that they couldn’t have written something like that or where did my idea come from. Just because for awhile I believed that I didn’t have a talent for writing, but now of course I do. So I think that giving some thing new a try and seeing if you have a knack for it is really good.

So, where do you now begin if you want to write a story? Well, the blank page bugs me, so I always try and fill it really fast. Often I’ll start with the weather- either outside or a make it up. Like ‘it was a bright sunny morning’ and then make the setting or add a character, ‘the street was quiet and the gentle breeze was blowing through the cherry blossom trees.’ then it’s character/setting, ‘Laura walked down the street, glancing up at each house as she past. What was the number again? she thought.’ so I’ve got my character’s thoughts now, but you can have speech too and now to hook the reader into the story (This is highly important to grab the reader so they’ll read on for sure!) ‘she paused before garden gate and bit her lip, how am I going to tell him? she thought and dropped a hand to her stomach, that I’m pregnant?’

See? you’re drawn into that now ’cause you want to know more about both characters and what they are going to do about the situation. I made that up on the spot too, as an example but also to do away with the white space on the page! And of course there are lots of different ways to get started and lots of guide books on writing out there. So give it a try!

PS. I might think about making my idea into a short story and posting it on here if I get enough people commenting with their interest, so get in touch, cause I do read them all- even tho right now I’ve over 5,000 to read! So bear with me but thanks for the support everyone!

More coming soon!